What we look for

There are no set rules about what we will or won't fund, but here are some of the things we think about:

We like things that are possible.

We're all for crazy ideas, but we also want to know that you can achieve what you're setting out to do. If a project fails, we want it to be due to the inherent risks of the idea, not the implementation.

We like projects that are not incremental.

Keeping a good thing going is great, but it's not what we're here for. We want our grants to help new ideas take off!

We like local projects.

We're invested in our local community and we want to do things that help Seattle grow. If your project isn't based in Washington state, consider applying to one of the more than 70 Awesome Foundation chapters around the world.

We like projects that are visible and have clear community benefit.

Continuing with our focus on community, we also lean towards projects that bring people together. We like to see people coming together through a project instead of enjoying it in isolation.

We like projects that are run by people.

There are a lot of funding channels for established organizations, and we're all for that. However, we prefer to use this money to support individuals and small groups.

We like projects that are Awesome.

Like we said before, these aren't rules, they're guidelines. We are more than happy to throw away everything we mentioned earlier for any project that makes us stop in our tracks and say “Whoah! That's awesome!”

If you'd like more feedback on a grant proposal, we normally hold office hours (we call it “Awesome Hours”) on the third Thursday of the month. Join our announcements list or follow us on Twitter to get timely announcements about Awesome Hours and other events. And, as always, send us an application if you think your idea is a good fit!

Join us

Awesome Seattle is made up of individuals who contribute their time and money to support awesomeness in Seattle. Each month 10 trustees get together, read proposals, and contribute $100 to the cause (adding up to the $1,000 that we give out as a grant). In addition to our full-time trustees, who participate every single month, we have a small number of guest trustee spots for anyone who is curious about what we do or unsure about committing to giving every month.